A blog for fathers who have been deprived of their rights

Archive for November 26th, 2008

Economic times are getting chilly. Foreclosures and unemployment are up, and there are no rescue plans in sight for non-custodial fathers. Some states have revamped their child support guidelines for 2009. In Massachusetts, thanks to the father rights movement, there are clear improvements going on. The State of Massachusetts will now take into consideration the income of the custodial parent in the computation of child support, including the first $20,000 that the custodial parent makes, which were not considered in previous child support guidelines. A decrease in income is also viewed as a legitimate reason for a reduction in child support. What is quite amazing to me, is that fathers had to wait for 2009 to see such legislative changes. It takes a lot of suffering for family laws to evolve.

Now, go to Missouri and you will bitterly regret not to have divorced in Massachusetts. In the 2009 Missouri child support guideline, you find the surrealist concept of “earning capacity” based on which child support payments can be imputed to the non-custodial parent. I bet that folks who found a job at Walmart because they were fired from a better one have an “earning capacity” far above their current wage. Let us pray that the Missouri family courts understand it. Other pearl: domestic debt, (child support too) is not dischargeable even in case of bankruptcy. If sicko ex-wife wants you bankrupt, the Missouri family law will make sure that you will.

The Supreme Court of Georgia, through its Commission on Children, Marriage and Family Laws, has put billboards urging people to “get married, and stay married.” In Georgia, maybe. In Missouri, avoid. Don’t get married there and more importantly, don’t divorce there.